The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-27
SHE RODE FOR EARLY.
The story of a Brave southern Woman as
Related bv scout

The story of "a Brave southern Woman
Related bv "A scout
A dispatch from Reidsville, n. c., to
the New York World, says: ''She was a
beautiful woman, and L have always
wondered what mission she was on"
The speaker was Mr.. Reid, who was
scout in the war under Gen. Early.
Zone morning in the valley he con-
tinued, II was ordered by Lieut.. At
wood, who was chief scout, to report to
Gen Early for orders. / rode at once to
headquarters. where | found a finely ca
parisOned steed, with lady's side saddle
on, standing in front of the tent door.
Gen Early came out and simply said:
You will go as escort to a lady; obey
her ORDERS.
Soon beautiful woman tripped
forth. and Ieaping on the charger, set out
i'm a gallop. / followed. We galloped
fully eleven miles. Not n word was ex-
changed. That evening, when within a
mile or two of the Potomac, L saw
large white farm house over to the left.
Here the first word was spoken. Rein
ing up she motioned me to halt, and
said:
IL will dismOunt and go to that house.
Take the horses and conceal them i'm the
woods; feed and curry them, and come
to the house for your supper She
went ON to the house and / did as | was
ordered. After we had supped she sig
nailed me to leave, and | was soon out
and had the horses ready and waiting in
the bend of the road. She was promptly
ON hand, and as before, set off in a gal
hop. We rode all night long. silently,
swiftly. As day dawned we left the
public roads and took across the cOun-
try. About "A. m, while going across
an old field. my fair companion halted
beside a broad, deep ditch and beckoned
me to her.
place these horses in that ditch and
get in yourself and stay here until come
toyou,' said she. She dismounted and
occupied the ditch as directed. and saw
her disappear through a thick skirt of
woods that fringed the edge of the field.
/ Judged we were in the locality of
Boonsboro, Md. Tired and worn out, L
soon fell asleep. 1t must have been late
dinner time when l was aroused by Whist
seemed the very ground in a jar and
rumble. / sprang from the ditch and
crept to the woods, and discovered that
Il plank road ran Just parallel, and that a
very large force of Federals, artillery.
wagons, etc. was passing down it. 1
soon got back to- the ditch, dreading dis
covery by bummers or stragglers, but L
was ready tn take care of them if not
more than one or two had come. But
none appeared. There | Laid full an hour,
when a light step and the rustilng of a
dress caught my ear. and looking up,
there she stool.
Quick. bring out the horses, she
said Which l did. Then mounting
her own, she handed me a message
sealed up in tissue paper, and said: Give
that to- Gen. Early And away she
went. That Is the last of her | ever
heard or knew. Sometimes it crosses
me as "A dream i'm f;liryland, and / won
/ der who she was and where she is-but
| that is all. | took my time getting back
and drew a long breath of relief when |
struck the Virginia side. When L sa-
luted and handed her message to Gen.
| Early he read it and said to his orderly
| Give this man something to eat and
| have his horse fed.